Memory
by RoseyBeano
Summary: Hordak is the leader of the Horde, and his plan to dominate Etheria is going successfully. So successfully, in fact, one might say that it is going along perfectly. Though there is something missing, something not quite right in this world, and as much as he wants to conquer it, it might be Etheria that ends up conquering him. With every second counting, will he have enough time?
1. Chapter 1

Memory

Turn Your Face to the Moonlight

Yet another threatening storm approaches from the east, and swirls throughout the dark expanse of The Fright Zone. The high reaching parapets seem to disappear in the low hanging clouds, and silent lighting permeates the shadows. The constant chug of machinery is the only thing to displace the restless silence, and as the sound dimly continues, the first lighting strikes. Within Hordak's inner sanctum the rumble of thunder is heard above him, and he looks away from the tablet he was reading.

Another storm approaches, he thought, and he let out a heavy sigh, seemingly trying to soak up the somber weather, before continuing his barren read. After every successful invasion he receives reports from the assembly of force captains under his command, and he analyzes them for inspection.

So far, everything seems successful; in fact, there seems to be sustained gains in the growth of his army's gross performance. He allows himself to relax in his seat after setting down the tablet on his personal side station. It automatically files the tablet along with the other's he's received today, resets it and sends it back to the force captain so that they can refill it with new information.

Usually such tasks would be up for Shadow Weaver to complete, but he needed to see the full set of data so that he could plan the next invasion. He just couldn't get that level of detail from one summarized report.

He hears the familiar flap of Imp go around him and the hint of a smile appears on his face, he scoots to the side of his throne allowing space for the little creature to land, and when he settles, he stares at Hordak with his distinct golden eyes. Hordak clears his throat and then begins to describe the reports.

"Everything is going along as planned, The Horde has gained ground towards Bright Moon, and data reflecting new recruits indicates that they are maintaining promising progress."

Imp decides to crawl into his lap and Hordak openly smiles and scritches his favorite place under his chin and he continues, "Everything is going along perfectly."

_A flash. _

_Imperfection is beautiful !_

And as that last word echoed, there seemed to be something familiar within its phonetics, but he was so startled that he couldn't differentiate if it was his voice or someone else's and regardless it made him sit up straight. The movement startled Imp and he crawled away from his lap before taking to the air. One of Hordak's ears gave a visible twitch as he tried to listen for anything else and his hands harshly griped the rests on his throne. Though all he could hear was the flap of Imp's wings and the faint undertone of rain on the roof. He shook his head and took a shaky breath with his eyes landing on the little creature, whom was casting him a curious glance from his place hovering above his line of sight. He did not look like he had seen anything worth mentioning and with that Hordak then allowed himself to look around the room, but of course there was no one there. Although in the back of his mind, for some reason, he actually had the feeling that someone was missing, which was unusual.

Nonetheless, he felt very uncomfortable. He stood slowly and was suddenly aware of the tenseness of his body and forced himself to relax. Even then, while just focusing on himself, he felt as if there was something missing too. Though he decided to think no more of it, chalking it up to the storm that was gathering outside. There was a strike of lighting, he reasoned, and it most likely hit one of the power stations causing a surge. Yes, yes that's what it was, he thought, and turned to regard Imp once more and said, "Remind me later to construct a lightning rod for the sanctum." The little creature opened his mouth to record his request, and squawked his assent, then flopped from his flight to Hordak's shoulder. It was probably the best that the surge happened now and not when he might've been working on something important in the lab. He thought to sit down once again and just wait for the last force captain to arrive with their report, but one of his windows caught the corner of his eye. He had calmed himself down so there really was no need, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look outside.

As he walked to the darkened and hard to see window sill, he thought once more on the strange flash of light. When the surge happened, the light had almost a purplish hue to it, while the lights above his sanctum were almost pressingly bitter green. He thought about how quickly the lighting would have to strike the roof in order to cause such a reaction so deep in the structure, and also thought to add a converter to the lighting rod so that he could collect such power for his experiments, and he relayed this to Imp. One of his ears once again twitched as he then focused on listening to the silence and then as it tuned to the slightly louder sound of falling rain.

He relaxed where he stood, comforted by the sound. It felt like home, back in the recreated rain falls of horde prime. Those rooms were meant to simulate damp tropical climates where surfaces were harder to traverse. However, when his pain flared up, he would reserve a room for himself and would slip in and take off his armor, letting the torrent pour above him. The humidity and heat dulled away the pain for a moment and he would pretend to be another, better version of himself. He closed his eyes to remember the feeling. When he opened them, he found himself picking at the collar of his hood unconsciously and when he realized what he was doing he promptly stopped. He then pulled open the curtain on the window. He only had two windows in the room, and he kept them both covered as to limit the light that entered, not that there would have been much to begin with. He propped open the window frame from the latch, and let his hand slip outside, cupping his hand to catch the drops.

He waited.

After a moment, he gripped the window and peered outside, and his eyes widened with confusion.

There wasn't a single drop of rain to be seen, or felt for that matter, which absolutely astounded him, since just a second ago he could distinctly hear the sound of rain. He knew the acid rain of The Fright Zone, and it never stopped so suddenly. His eyes drifted off into the distance.

So, if it wasn't raining or storming, then what caused the power surge in the sanctum?

He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door and a voice,

"Lord Hordak?"

He turned away from the window with a grimace, "Yes? State your importance"

"Sir, its Force Captain Scorpia, with the Troop Status Report."

Hordak let out another breath and quickly closed and curtained the window before responding with a slight growl, "Come in but make it quick."

As Scorpia entered the room she knew why she was there and the details of the report, but as her eyes met the glowing red of Hordak's her mind blanked. Though this was a frequent occurrence and one she was used to, what happened next was distinctly not.

_A flash_

_You're the only one I can trust around here. _

It was like something hit her out of the blue, like that one time she was sent on a super important mission for The Horde, and she realized halfway there that she forgot to turn in another super important report. Except, she couldn't really seem to know what she was forgetting. It was like something she should know, but she can't think of it anymore, almost like déjà vu and this felt like something important! She took a moment to remember what it was but Hordak quickly interrupted her thoughts.

"Force captain!" he snapped, "_Please_ disclose what you came here for."

"Oh, right my bad Mr. Hordak sir." She displayed the tablet she had in her hand which showcased her troops growth.

"Everything is going as planned sir, and the invasion of Thaymor was a complete success, everything is perfect." Scorpia extended the tablet she had in her claws, but Hordak hesitated to reach it, before taking it away from her.

"Thank you force captain, you may return to your duties." And with that the door promptly shut in her face.

Scorpia blinked before moving away and she swore she could hear the chittering from Hordak's little winged monkey thing on the other side. She shivered and turned around to leave. Quick as lightning the same bright light filled her vision and she backed into the door harshly. She immediately drew her arms into her chest and reached up to cover her eyes with a gasp. When her vision returned, she was blinking madly and rubbing her eyes.

_Where is it!? Can I see it !? Can I touch it !?_

_This is just an illustration _

_What will actually happen will be much worse. _

What was _that_, she thought.

She looked around confusedly, "Was that someone's…voice? In my head? Hello?"

"Scorpia!"

"AAUAH!" Scorpia immediately brought up her pinchers, her tail posed to strike.

"Force Captain!"

Flustered she defaulted and stood at attention, "Mr. Hordak! Sir!"

"What? No, this is terry…"

She then realized the voice came from her intercom and she quickly readjusted herself before responding, "U-uh hello yes Force Captain Scorpia reporting in, what is it!"

She held the intercom closer to her face then usual and it responded with a loud screech and she yanked it away from her face, "The Force Captain briefing is starting now!"

Scorpia's face contorts into confusion and she swipes up on her intercom, "but that's not for another- what?!"

The time read about an hour past than what it should be, and she scratched the screen while responding, "well, uh, I'll be on my way then" and promptly left, shaking her head and cracking it up to being just one of those days.

As she paced away golden eyes peered from the darkness of the ceiling and disappeared into it.

Back in Hordak's lair Imp crawled through the vent he was hiding in and flew down to one of the armrests on the throne. He chirped at him, but Hordak was somewhere else. He had his arms crossed and was slightly slumped as he stared off into the distance, blinking occasionally, but seemingly not noticing the little creature there. Imp cocked his head but lifted his tail slowly so that he was eventually able to catch Hordak's attention.

Hordak finally turned to acknowledge him and cleared his throat, "Well?" He simply said.

Hordak couldn't help but notice almost a hesitation in his response before he opened his mouth to relay what he had found. Hordak froze when Scorpia mentioned, 'hearing a voice' and Imp promptly shut his mouth.

"Keep going" snapped Hordak, and Imp shook his head with fear in his eyes and Hordak laid his hand on the little creature's head.

"I need to figure out what is going on."

Imp tilted his head to rub against Hordak's hand, "there is something happening and I need to figure out what it is, please"

Imp chittered nervously but continued the recording and Hordak once again heard the sound that had prompted all this, Scorpia's back coming into contact with his door. He listened to the rest of it, his other hand toying with the collar on his neck. As it ended Imp shut his mouth and stared at Hordak whom was lost in thought, continually rubbing on the space above his chest, near his collar bone. He swiftly stood up and Imp hovered before settling on the top of Hordak's throne. Hordak paced and was lost in thought into what was happening. There was a surge of some kind, apparently not related to any storms. He checked his intercom and there were no new notifications regarding an attack or malfunction in equipment, other than Shadow Weaver rambling on about something. In the recording, apparently Scorpia heard something, and then she rushed away to her meeting, and she was late. He brought up his arm and scrolled through his intercom looking for the schedule for today. He then turned to ask Imp something.

"Imp, do you remember what time I made the recording for the lightning rod?" He looked up from his tablet and the little creature held one index finger up and the finger on the other hand slightly to the right next to it.

Hordak mumbled to himself, "So at about noon the incident occurred…and according to the schedule…the Force Captain report was due at 12:30….and she was right on time…so then…"

He scrolled down and saw that apparently the Force Captain Meeting was not supposed to start until 4. Which must have been some sort of mistake, thought Hordak, but as he checked the time on his intercom it was actually 5 o'clock. So according to what he knew now, five hours passed from when the Force Captain arrived in the sanctum.

Hordak had managed to wander into his sleeping quarters, Imp following him, and he sat on his bed facing the mirror above his armoire. He looked at himself, and he appeared as confused and stressed as he thought he was, trying to figure out what this could be. Then he let out a huff of a sigh. This was ridiculous, he thought, there is nothing happening and nothing was wrong and everything was fine. This was fine, and he needed to calm down. He looked into his own eyes as he stood from his bed, it happened again.

_A Flash. This time there were cracks that encroached on his vision. _

_**You want to know what I am? **_

_**I am a clone !**_

The light returned once more and he was brought to his knees with the intensity of it. Though as he soundlessly gasped, it wasn't the shock of it and it wasn't the light that brought him down, it was the pain. His breathing came in harsh gasps as he felt as if he had been shocked, and he weakly held on to his chest. He could hear the flutter and screech of imp as he panicked around Hordak, and he could feel his eyes burning as different images flashed quickly.

He couldn't make sense of it, nor with the voices that came with it.

_Initiating first test. Here we go. Aha. _

…

_Somethings wrong. I'm turning it off. __**No, you fool. It's going to blow-**_

_Tada! I made you soup, soup always makes me feel better. _

_I like being friends with you, too._

When it ended and the last words faded from his mind, he was breathing heavily on the marble floor. He had broken out in a cold sweat and was clutching his chest with a single claw, talons digging into the tunic he wore. While the other had once again gripped the hallow between his hood and his chest. He opened his eyes to find Imp on top of his face, tiny hands holding on to the top of his hood.

He took a second and gently patted Imp and he gave him a look of great concern, Hordak gave him a look of solemn contempt before responding, "We are going to the lab."


	2. Chapter 2

Hordak was absolutely sure he was out of his mind, he lost it somehow, in whatever was happening.

He hurried through the halls with an urgency in each step, while checking every corner he turned to make sure that it was familiar, so that he was in fact going the right way. His hair kept on falling between his eyes and it was annoying him beyond belief. Imp followed him from within the vents, and he moved very quietly, every once in a while, Hordak would look up to see the familiar golden light shining within through vent grilles. They were making slow progress taking in the ever-increasing amount of times Hordak would double over as the flashes hit him, the good news was that he was getting used to them. The bad news was that they still came out of nowhere with nothing to obviously trigger them, but he pushed that thought away as he heard _her_. He didn't know who_ she_ was to be certain, but her voice made his heart flutter in a way he's never felt before. He began to put together the little tidbits that he could hear and hypothesized that she was a scientist of some kind, and a friend. He was still confused and stressed out of his mind, but he held on to the hope that whomever that voice belonged to would be the key to figuring out what was going on. He stopped at the intersection of two hallways, nodding at two horde soldiers who were openly staring at him. He wondered for just a second if _she_ could be under one of those face masks. Would she even know him? Or him to her? Or was she just silently watching from the distance? He shook his head to get the thoughts out of mind. He needed to focus on getting to the lab. He looked around to try and find one of the signature cracks in the wall that he knew was an indication that he was near horde soldier quarters. It was the midway point between the throne and his lab when going along this route. According to a report by shadow weaver one of the cadets had snuck in a pet from their homeland and it had wormed its way through the gaps in the ventilation. It had taken a month for them to get it out and left a crack where it had tried to get through the walls. He was absolutely sure this was the place that it had been, and he knew it had to still be there because he had to lower infrastructure repair in the budget in order to limit costs. Then he turned to the soldiers, whom were standing at attention in his presence, as they should.

"Do either of you know where the crack is?"

"…Sir?" 

Hordak growled, "The crack from the incident a couple months ago? It was from a creature that was let loose? Don't you remember?"

Both of them shook their heads in negation and Hordak released yet another annoyed sigh, "Fine, fine, it's no matter. Can you direct me towards horde soldier quarters?"

Then they pointed in the direction he came from.

Hordak didn't respond for a moment before pulling up the map on his transmitter, and somehow, they were right. From the direction he had come lay horde soldier quarters, then med bay, and then his lab. But that was impossible, and at that time there was another flash. He growled and a hand came up to his face to rub at his eyes and the soldiers froze in shock, when it ended, he was left blinking intensely and noticing their confused stares he roared at them to leave, and they quickly took off down the hall. When they were gone, he was left shaking his head as Imp peaked down from below a vent.

It seemed like a year ago when he left his room to initially go to the lab. He had opened the door to the throne room and had to stop himself as the hallway that had led directly to where he needed to go was now covered inch to inch with a solid wall. He had stared at it for an embarrassingly long amount of time before…remembering, that it had always been there.

But it hasn't, had it?

He turned around to look at the empty space on the wall, and he knew for a fact that there was supposed to be a crack there. The terrible annoyance he experienced from what happened was seared into his mind too well, or was it? Maybe he was just imagining things? Though as he turned to go in the direction the soldiers had pointed him in, the question answered itself. Now that he actually thought about it and looked, it wasn't just the wall in his throne room that had suddenly appeared, or the crack that disappeared, but also doors and other walls that were both missing and materializing in odd places. There were even windows that had appeared as well, and he would startle as the natural light that streamed from outside would catch him off guard. Whenever he experienced one of these anomalies, he would check the transmitter on his wrist. Yet it never shined any light to whether those objects were actually supposed to be there. It just simply displayed where the hall in front of him ended, and where another began. It made him wish he had grabbed the blueprints for the place, but then again, he had no idea where those could be either, his best guess was that they were stored somewhere haphazardly in his room. Then he stopped and thought about it, and he couldn't even remember the way he had left from his throne room. He traced the path back with his transmitter, and it only took one swipe to so, but there was a nagging feeling in his mind that made him believe that it couldn't be that close. His feet had to have guided him farther than that, he thought, but that feeling disagreed with the data so he promptly shut it down. Instead, he decided to just hurry up and leave the map out, so there was then no possibility he could be looping around in circles. After finally making this decision, he consulted the map and it indicated to make a right at the next intersection of hallways. Then as he made the turn, he caught sight of a horde solider, a force captain, whom was staring at one of the walls. He wondered…

_A Flash _

_You…_

As the flash ended, he felt like he was out of breath and leaned heavily against a wall, gasping for air. It was the quickest flash he's experienced so far, but this time the voice was distinctly hostile. Those eyes, that _voice, _they filled him with such contempt and rage. He considered it for a moment but concluded that it wasn't the same voice he had heard before. This new voice was filled with quantifiable malice, and he felt in the back of his mind, that whomever it belonged to was an enemy of some kind.

Though not just some enemy, he thought_, The_ enemy, like a _princess._

His head shot up to where it was bent towards the wall, to the spot where the captain had stood, but of course they were gone. The rage that had been building in him since the beginning of all this bubbled over and he slammed a fist against the wall he had been leaning against. Imp, whom had been perfectly content in following him through the vent shaft squeaked at the loudness and force of the sound.

Hordak took a moment to regain his composure and then rose up to his full height. Imp then opened the entrance of a vent shaft and peaked out once again, eyes widening at the sizeable dip that had formed in the wall. There also was an unfortunate horde soldier that had frozen in fear right behind Hordak, and the little creature made a motion with his hand for them to leave. The soldier catching the sight of the movement quickly turned around and hurried off. Hordak then turned his attention to Imp and his eyes had recessed into fiery slits.

"I grow _tired_ of these games."

Imp waited for an order as Hordak stood broodily, his face was cast in shadows where he stood between the lights.

"I would send you after _whomever _that was, but with the way _walls seem to suddenly appear out of thin air_-"

He growled in-between his own thoughts, "it is not a risk worth taking, so lets just be on our way."

Imp nodded and went to disappear into the vents again, but Hordak stopped him.

"Wait, I want you to fly alongside me."

Imp's tailed gave a flick as the little creature tilted his head in confusion, and Hordak explained, "I don't want us to become separated." He extended his arm in expectance, "Please."

Imp blinked before complying, and then hopped onto his arm before launching into the air, hovering by Hordak's side.

"We'll attract more…unwanted attention, but it doesn't really matter now. Let's go."

Imp moved away as Hordak stormed pass and ignored the concerned look that the little creature cast his way.

After that, the lights above him seemed to shine more distractedly as they dimmed and brightened as he passed. He then began to notice a throbbing pain starting to grow in the back of his head. All the commotion of today was sure to give him a migraine, and he dreaded the thought of it. Imp would sometimes chitter at the horde soldiers that they passed, and they all stood at attention in response to his presence. He would shoot them a glance, looking for a force captain pin or some indicator it was The Enemy he had glimpsed in the flash, but no soldier matched the description. Every so often too, the voices of his soldiers intermingling would ring around the halls and the echoes would merge and almost sound like The Scientist. The Enemy and Ehe Scientist, perhaps they alluded him in every face that passed, or maybe they didn't exist at all, and the previous thought of him losing his mind was becoming true.

The more time that passed, the more the latter seemed more a reasonable possibility.

Nonetheless, he continued, and despite having his map out and using it to navigate the twists and turns of the halls, the feeling that he was going in circles never went away. He developed a visceral hatred for that feeling. It made him feel as if he was caught in some maze rather than just traveling through his own domain. He felt like a strange, like he didn't know the place anymore.

Maybe he never did.

According to the map he was almost there, but time stretched on and on, and he couldn't tell how much had passed already. He began to notice that the quiet beat of imp's wings matched the steady throb of the growing pain in his head. When he passed windows, he tried to look for any darkening signaling the single star setting west in the sky, but the same dreary scene seemed to appear each time. The swirl of the clouds and the occasional flash in the distance didn't provide him a comfort like it had before.

He moved on.

He still hasn't been able to figure out what has been happening, and the rage once again bubbles under the surface of his skin. Maybe this was some secret attack cultivated by those damned princesses, and they sent The Enemy to torture him or maybe they had somehow managed to pump the whole facility full of gas and he was just hallucinating the awkward way his troops regarded him as he went by. Though deep down, he knew this not to be true. He felt wrong in a way that dragged in his core through every step, like he was just pieces tied to a string, and not a fully functional being. It left a disgusting taste in the back of his mouth.

Even worse, every time that flash occurred, it took more and more out of him. Though strangely enough he never heard The Enemy's voice again. For which he was at least a little thankful. Instead, however, in more instances now, there would be no voice accompanied with it. Just an empty flash that came from nowhere yet was everywhere. It slowed him down and muddled his brain, making him forget if he came from the hall on the right or left. He had to blink and rub his face sometimes as well as he swore when he would look to check the map on his intercom that it was changing too. He paused to take in a breath, as he felt his heart begin to beat faster than his liking. He closed his eyes to listen to the soft flaps of Imp beside him, and when he opened his eyes a door stood in front of him.

He immediately spun around, and Imp had to dodge away with a screech as he gave him an increasingly concerned look.

"But, what-?"

And then yet another flash occurred, and he was inside his laboratory.

He was absolutely baffled, and angry as well. He was actually beginning to think he understood the mechanics of what was going on, objects moving around, a flash then a vision then a voice, or sometimes just a flash. It was a pattern, but now, apparently, the flash had the ability to teleport him to another location.

What the _hell_ was this? _Who_ was doing this? He cursed, repeatedly.

He felt his claws dig into his hands again as he squeezed his eyes shut and for the first time through this ordeal, felt true unrelenting fear.

The he remembered Imp, and looked to where he was hovering beside him, giving him a bewildered look, like Hordak had _imagined_ that they were just teleported.

"_What_?" he snapped, "Do you have something to say?"

The little creature just chittered in response and flew to wait for him by the metal arms.

Whatever Imp was thinking didn't really matter now, he thought. It's time to do what he came here for. He strode to the data pad and hastily put in the access code, although his hands were shaking, he pretended not to notice. Meanwhile, Imp lounged on the top of a bookshelf, he had one hand behind his head, a leg bent, the other leg balanced on his other knee, and all while his tail swished below him. He cast Hordak a neutral look, with only one eye open, and gave him a thumbs up. Hordak shook his head at the little creatures' antics, but it provided him a small amount of comfort and got into the chamber. There was the sound of hydraulics as the metallic arms began to do their work. They took him apart piece by piece, and he tried intently to focus on calming his nerves. Despite this, he distinctly felt a bead of sweat trickle down his back. Once the last stubborn arm ripped out the last piece, he stepped out of the cylindrical pod and in front of a mirror.

His voice caught in his throat and his blood ran cold.

His knees buckled as he stood there, taking in what he saw, his eyes burned again like they did before. It was a punch to the gut on top of everything that had happened today. The flashes, the voices, the walls, doors, and windows appearing and disappearing, the paranoia and displacement he felt, and now…now this. He continued to stare into his own eyes, but, the fire in them dampened and he felt something drip down from the ceiling above him. He broke his own stare and looked up at the ceiling, but there was nothing there. He then slowly reached a claw up to touch his face, he removed it and saw the wetness shine in the light on the pads below his talons. He's seen Etherians cry, so knows what it is, but as he stares at his perfect nails, leading to his fingers, palm, connected to his perfect arm, and his perfect body he imagines that it was just him melting, and in a second, he would be nothing more than a bubbling pool of goo.

This time, when _it_ flashed, he could feel it coming.

_The flash explodes in his vision as cracks extend from every which direction. _

_He sees himself as he truly is, the monster he is, covered in scars and holes._

_He is fragile and weak, gaunt looking, seemingly built with nothing but mistakes. _

When it ends his expression is cold and dead, the warmest thing being the red in his eyes. Tears track down below them and drip onto the bodice of something that shouldn't _exist_. That he knows is not real. As the thought enters his head, his face contorts seemingly into slow motion, his claws curl into fists, and his talons sharply dig in half-moons as he smashes the mirror. He rages and rages and can barely hold back as he hits until there's nothing but shards on the floor. He looks at the ground and stares at everything that is scattered around him. His tears are dripping all over the pieces.

They almost look like stars.

Then Hordak remembers.

Then _E-01-24-T-135-A _remembers.

In Horde Prime, there were never room for mistakes. Every move was calculated and precise, and mistakes were only as good as the planets that they conquered. When E-01-24-T-135-A was younger, he remembered the scars not being as bad. He was healthier, but he knew who he was. He was always a mistake, a reject, something not meant to exist.

He would throw himself into battles, pushing harder and harder at everything he did. He knew it was wearing him down, making his symptoms worse, but he didn't care. He could not fail his brothers.

Though Deep, deep, down, it was never the pain that debilitated him, or the scars that it left. It was his asinine ability to feel. E-01-24-T-135-A's brothers could lose arms, lose legs, and would just get them replaced. Though when he saw them suffering, he had empathy for them and wanted to help them, and worst of all he cared. They did not care, nothing mattered to them and it killed E-01-24-T-135-A on the inside to watch their empty expressions despite everything. Worst of all was Horde Prime, whom never cared for him and felt even less than the rest. He would try his best to please him, but at the end of the day, he was just one clone out of millions. Horde Prime was ruthless, culling and unrelenting in his mission. He was a conqueror through and through, and in everything he was, E-01-24-T-135-A was not. E-01-24-T-135-A was angry and irrationally so, and he always cared on the thoughts of others. Whether it be through his brother's approval in the past, or in the chances he gave his troops again and again, instead of immediately smiting them as Horde Prime would've. There was this, crushing, sense of entrapment that he felt in his own skin, day after day. He didn't just feel the pain, he felt other things, things that did not matter, but only in the fact that they made him weak. Like fear, and especially the fear he felt now as the realization hit him that this empty husk, this perfect clone that he was now, was something he knew he didn't want to be.

E-01-24-T-135-A, was a coward.

_Hordak_, was a coward.

His ear twitched as he caught the sound of Imp hovering next to him. He swallowed before turning to look down at the little creature, and it was looking him with round almost pleading eyes, it beckoned him with a finger.

Hordak let out a sigh and followed his command, "I'm sorry…" he said, and Imp took a tiny hand and smudged away his tears.

"I know I have been…angrier…today more than usual-"

Imp surprised him by giving him a hug right as he spoke, and he couldn't help but attempt to hug back. Though Imp's smallness was greatly accentuated by Hordak's large hand on his back, and his grip was very fragile.

After a beat, they separated and Hordak really looked into Imp's eyes.

_A flash_

_Your armor is more of an exoskeleton now. _

_The tech compensating for your organic body. _

…

_What does it feel like?_

"Powerful." Hordak touches once again the center of his chest, right below his collarbone. He hasn't actively touched the place on his skin for a while, too caught up in everything happening. Though the thought catches in his mind that despite finally being able to remember his past, this scientist whom seems to genuinely care about him still alludes his memory. As well as The Enemy. None of it made sense.

Maybe this was all a dream.

Hordak's eyes refocused on Imp as it chittered at him and he spoke gently, "Make a note" It blinked and open its mouth and Hordak spoke, "No more brown rations before bed."

Imp closed its mouth and raised a single eyebrow, before rolling its eyes and flying away. Hordak feels the flutter of a smile on his face for the first time that day and takes a moment to let out his breath and attempt to relax the stiffness of his shoulders. Though as his eyes wandered once again to the shards of glass still on the ground, a plan formed in his mind. First, he was going to remember The Kind Scientist from the flashes. Then, he was going to figure out a way to get to wherever she was. He stood up and Imp flew around him in circles while sticking out his tongue. Hordak shook his head and chuckled before forgoing his armor, and merely wrapped a spare cloak around his shoulders. Then he went to leave through the door. As his hand lifted to press the button on the door control, there came a knock on the door. He froze and Imp flew into the vent above the entrance. He waited a moment for the little creature to return and when Imp did, he stuck out his tongue and made an L with a single hand on his forehead, so Hordak cooled his expression and unlocked the door.


End file.
